Enjoy! I know several of the guys are interested in getting the "new" speedster/Manta FR. Looks like a good board but according to Pritchard, no one in the US has one yet! Maybe that will change soon...

From the looks of it, the 2014 Rockets from 115 to 135 will have new shapes. I guess there standard construction is now called CED? Marketing I guess. I was talking with Matt Pritchard awhile ago and he told me that the newer rocket would not have as a pronounced double concave as the previous Rockets did. So sort of similar to their original Rocket from 05-06. Also what I like about the Rocket is that it doesn't have cut outs. I myself have always found cut outs to cause gybing to be more difficult and shouldn't be on a board made for complete freeriding. On the other hand, Starboard has put cut outs on their equivalent board so it doesn't interest me. I've always felt that the cut out shapes cause drag and would require some careful designing to make them work. None of the cut out shapes I've tried so far have excited me. But who knows that can change this year!From the looks of it, the Guru is based on the Rocket but in a heavier construction so the ding resistance would be beneficial to beginners. A beginner friendly Rocket shaped board seems to be a big seller in my books. Seems to be like what Fanatic has done with their Ray line; same shape as the Falcon but in a heavier construction. The other board that interest me in their 2014 line up is obviously the Manta. For me the Manta is easily one of the smoothest slalom boards I have ever tried though at the cost of some speed from my experience. In my own opinion, the speedster and thunder don't really interest me as I've always felt that I'd rather work out all the kinks in my form and technique before jumping to a faster board so I could fully utilize them. I feel that the FreeRace category encourages people (not all the time!) to get gear to go faster rather than relying on their technique. That's just me though! Sorry if I offended anyone!

From the looks of it, Tabou was in a rush to release this brochure as there is barely any information on the Manta. It looks like the Manta 71, 85, and 85 will be all getting new shapes. From what I can tell, they seem to be moving more towards a V instead of double concave on their Freeride/Race line up. I would have to see the board in person before I criticized the design change...but I will say the main reason I really liked the Manta was its deep double concave. Well not as deep as the HyperSonics but it was definitely there. For speed runs in my area, that double concave would be very nice as most of the time the "speed line" is pretty rough and choppy. All in all I trust Fabian so....-Kevin

Well done to the maker of the video!

Enjoy!

-Kevin

This whole week has been a royal PITA for anyone competing in the GPS Challenge. The wind would pick up quickly than drop just as fast as it picked up. We can thank that Tropical Storm Ivo for these conditions. After Monday's debacle, I was hoping Tuesday would redeem Cabrillo Beach. Sadly though, you really only had 2 options for Tuesday:1) ONE really nice gust but lots of chop I lost a lot of speed hitting the rolling chop and couldn't get back up to speed as the gust had already passed2) REALLY flat water but almost non-existent windYou really gotta hate that feeling when you start your run but the wind dies and oversheeting mania occursAll in all, Tuesday was a day where the wind gods were taunting me...grrrBest peak I could get was a 27.85kt run :( To make matters worse the wind picked up to 20 right when I was about finished derigging...

This is where the light at the end of the tunnel started to fade...

Today though was different...I decided that the saying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me" was going to be the motto for the day. Around 1 I saw the wind was picking up and was tempted to go but was reminded about the motto of the day. Waited till 2:30 to head out and made it just in time for a pretty nice 30 minute session. If I could grade the day than it would be an A+ for general blasting and maybe B/B- for speedsailing. The few brave folks who came out today were Jim, Steve, Igor, Kie, Kathy, and Jim.

Regarding on water conditions, it was high tide and the "speed line" was pretty rough/rolling chop. On the bright side most of the inner buoy area was filled in (except for the area right in front of the sand - critical area for starting runs) so I was able to get in really close to shore to avoid the chop and do maybe a 5-7sec speed run along the sea wall. Obviously my 5x10s, 100m, 250m, and 500m speeds would suck but at least I got to go somewhat fast :D. Ended up setting a new competition 2 sec peak record at 30.5kts !! Won't go into what I got for the rest of the categories...they weren't that awesome... always next time!

This is how I felt after setting a new record...I would like to add that WOW the AHD, KA, and Select Fins combo performed flawlessly today! I was comfortable the whole time during the session with my AHD SL1 95, KA Koyote 6.6 (just fixed), and Select Vmax 31. Only issue I had was 1 spin out which was during a tack that I was pushing the board really upwind (almost into irons). Other than that everything was just PERFECT on the gear side. I know Jurg always tells me he sells "balanced" gear but to be honest I never really understood what that meant till today. It has definitely helped increased my speed(s) without compromising comfort which was a very important requirement for me. I highly recommend you guys try the AHD/KA/Select trio!

Not bad of a day at all!

Sadly though the session itself wasn't flawless and ended early thanks to the up and down wind we have been getting. Ended the day with a quick dinner at the Lighthouse Cafe and went over to Jurg's to chit chat with him and Ron. Also learned some rigging tips and tricks from the grandmaster himself! It should be noted that I still, at my weight and build, prefer to use a rigging winch. I just don't have that same strength that Jurg does!Hoping tomorrow will be more consistent as the low tide will be around noon which should make for ideal speedsailing conditions as long as the wind is there. I'll also be rigging an older KA Koncept for Serham to try so hopefully I can do that quick and get myself onto the water. If not that I guess I'll have to deal with the crowds on the weekend...

Monday, August 26, 2013

I was the only one sailing today. Wind was very weak, yes
the meter read high numbers but once it starts reading west early in the day it
becomes completely inaccurate regarding the conditions on the inside I would
estimate anywhere between 12-17mph + lots of mirror areas.

Results of the day:

2sec peak: 27.16kts

5x10sec avg: 26.40kt

Alpha@500m: 18.47kts

Nautical mile: 17.32kts

Hour: N/A (thats how bad the wind was!!!)

Distance: 40.74km

Most of the inner bay was mirror lake with the occasional ripple/gusts. Not happy with the wind conditions but
overall I'm pleased with the performance. Hit very similar speeds to
what the other competitors have been hitting in stronger winds.

Made all wheat pancakes in the morning with Vivian and gotta say these things aren't that good...I guess they are supposed to be healthy...

Made it to the beach around 2pm and their wasn't enough wind to compete so spent the day just blasting around (barely) with my 7.4 Koyote, SL1 95,and 35 Vmax. To be honest, it felt quite nice just to go sailing without constantly trying to set new speeds!

BUT I did carry the gps with me though just to see how I would do in low winds. Managed a 22.9kt best in 12-15mph winds. I was actually surprised at how well the rig did for such marginal conditions. For a 95L board it was going pretty good with the 35cm Vmax. In most instances I would've probably used a 115 to 120l board with a 37 or 39 for days like this but ever since I got the SL1, I've been able to manage it in a wide range of conditions!

Rig for the day

Hoping the next week will be good. If I can get in another 30kt+ run w/ a 5x10sec avg above 28 than I'll win August's GPS Challenge!

2013 Select VMAX 31cm PowerBox - $100Easily one of the best fins I have ever used. I only was able to use this fin maybe 5 times. Since I've switched to AHD all my fins are now tuttle so it's end game for this fin. For it's shape it's incredible how well this fin goes up wind! Downwind is where the magic happens though...Will add the rest of the gear I have for sale later...hungry...:D

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Probably not going to sail tomorrow as sailing 4 straight days has killed me but I'll be at the beach with gps units and will be rigging my 2012 7.4 Koyote for demo. It will be rigged on a KA 100% carbon rdm. BYOB-Bring your own boom!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Today was just not a good day in general.Got to the beach and it was HOWLING! BUT
right after I rigged it started dying quickly.Had difficulties staying on a plane most of the time as the lulls were
huge!There were some nice gusts but they
weren’t in the areas where you needed them to be.Hopefully tomorrow will be more filled
in.While a bad day I’m still pleased
that my 2 sec peaks are in the 29s for such conditions.

Day 4

Day 4 results

The wind was blowing west most of the time today and the
inside was very patchy. after 2:18pm. Jim first few runs looked promising but
he ended up breaking his 10 year old carbon boom. He opted to turn off the gps
as he had to rig up different gear which wasn't optimal for the conditions.

As for me, today was worse than yesterday. After the first
20 minutes of trying to do some good runs I gave up and spent the rest of the
day just blasting around. I was originally planning to rig my 6.6 but found
that the 5th batten was broken. The sail will be sent off to WindsurfDeal for a
quick repair so I can compete Sunday. Had to use a 6.0 today which wasn't good
at all. While the wind chart shows high numbers I would say the inside was
probably around 12 to 20 at most. Saturday and Sunday look to be the same
according to forecast so I'll probably rig 7.4 for those days.

In other news, I'll have a 2012 KA Koyote 7.4 rigged up for demo this Sunday for anyone interested. It will be rigged on an rdm but if you want I can rerig it on a sdm. Both masts are KA masts.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Well today was howling for sure! Made it to the beach around 2 and was on the water by 2:30. Was able to hit 29.5 knots on my warm up run than 34.7 knots on the next run. At the end of the second run I hit what easily was a 25+mph gust and chop at the same time and ended up crashing. Was unable to sheet in and slammed the front of the board with the mast; cracked.

:(

From the looks of it I thought it wasn't too bad at all and had probably only cracked the outer layer. Had to make the hard decision whether to keep sailing or call it a day after only 10 minutes on the water. Ended up calling it a day and spent the rest of the day drying the board throughly and fixing it for tomorrow. I believe it was a good call! Better safe than sorry!

I must add that I'm incredibly thankful for Jurg @ WindsurfDeal who helped me at the last minute to inspect the board and repair it so I could get out and compete tomorrow! Without their support this small issue probably would've had some lasting effects!

Besides the bad day for me Steve and Jack managed to get in their first runs for the GPS Challenge. Steve hit a 2sec max at 27.24 knots while Jack managed a (in weaker winds) 27.67 knot 2 sec peak. Haven't calculated the scores yet but from the looks of it, Steve would be in second and Jack in third. Everything can change though with their second session!

EDIT: Current standing has me in first and Jack/Steve tied for second. Still awaiting the results from the others!

Jack getting his last run in

Even with the crash I'm still in a comfortable lead so hopefully I can recover from today's mishap and extend my lead even further tomorrow. I managed yesterday a 2sec peak of 30.04 knots in about 5-7kts less wind than the guys had today so my competitive spirit is still high!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Dakine adjustable lines, they never slip! but these are the second set I've broke this month. Thankfully Dakine has warranted them! Must've been a bad batch...hopefully. The Chinook/Prydes I've used never broke in the tubing in the same spot the Dakines were placed.

I'll add my opinions after work+sailing session. Hopefully the 2014s are a lot more ... "durable" compared to the 2013s...
The 2014 iSonic action video was kind of lackluster; here's the link. I really liked the one they made for 2012 which can be found here

EDIT: Couldn't find the futura in the list of new boards for 2014 but Starboard released the "Action" video on their youtube page. Watch it here!

Also so far since the start of the PWA Alacati event, both Bjorn and Antoine have totaled one board so far. Antoine spun out and crashed into the organizers boat (totaled entire set up) and Bjorn totaled his born in a crash with Ben van der Steen. Sarah-Quita Offringa is doing pretty darn good in her slalom heats! Should be noted though that Lena Erdil, Delphine Cousin, Marion Mortefon and Valerie
Arrighetti were eliminated for early starts.

Monday, August 19, 2013

The forecast for the week looks decent. Mid teens across Tuesday to Friday but none for the weekend. Let's hope that changes! Today itself wasn't supposed to be good but right now (3:36pm) it's blowing 12-20mph!! Was going to go but Jack and I decided to go tomorrow instead. We should be able to get in some good numbers for the GPS CS.

On the bright side, the water quality right now for the inside bay is at it's best! So definitely going to try to make it out to Cabrillo for the next 3 days straight unless Vivian has something to say about it...her birthday is tomorrow...

Forecast for the next 3 days

Hope to see some of you guys at the beach!

-Kevin

PS: I have a 8.5/9.5 KA Koncept for demo. If you are interested please contact me to set up an arrangement!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Started the day with getting breakfast at Ham N Scram with Vivian than spent an hour and 20 minutes getting to Cabrillo. Usually it only takes 24 minutes but due to the 605/22/405 closure there was traffic everywhere. To make matters worse I realized I had forgotten the waterproofing bag for Jack's GPS. Couldn't turn around due to the traffic so I ended up just going to West Marine in San Pedro to get a new bag. Also stopped by Captain Kirk's to get a new set of harness lines. So far I have spent $120 on harness lines this year; I guess I'm really hard on my harness lines haha.

Finally made it to the beach around 1:20 but the conditions were looking pretty bad. Never got the chance to sail but had fun chit chatting with Kia, Tim, Eric, and Jack. Peter and his son also stopped by and went sailing a long with Tak and his friends. I did rig up but ended up derigging due to worsening conditions. Around 5pm the wind started to pick up so I was about to rig again but it dropped suddenly so gave up and helped Jack derig as quickly as possible since it was getting cold.

From what I can tell we have had over 10 new faces at Cabrillo this season! What a record! Two new faces showed up today at the beach from Florida: Doug and Diana. They had a bunch of AHD boards which really looked nice! (AHD ambassador so I'm biased) They had a few questions regarding the conditions but of most concern was the water quality. As we all know Cabrillo is infamous for 2 things: The gusts and the water quality. But amazingly this season the water has been given a rating of A/B a few times! Including today too! You can check the weekly water quality thru the link on the side of the blog.

Eventually left the beach around 7pm. I must note that I still have high hopes for the rest of the week! With that in mind, I'll be at the beach all week long so if you need to borrow a gps for the challenge give me a call!